White House attack to limit imports of Chinese products, in the middle of an election year. US President Joe Biden announced Increase in tariffs In all types of products that are considered strategic, such as cElectric vehicles, batteries, chips, aluminum, steel, solar panel cells or medical products. All together, that’s $18 billion worth of goods annually.
As announced on Tuesday, The tariff will be multiplied by four Which affects imports of Chinese electric cars, which will be of 102% (27.5% rate now applied). The tariff on solar panel chips or components will be doubled. Electric car batteries will pay a 25% tariff, up from 7.5%, for example. The planned application timeline is from 2024 to 2026.
Biden follows Trump’s hard line
The US President’s decision comes in an election year, and ironically, this decision further tightens the trade policy initiated by his predecessor and competitor, Donald Trump. In reality, None of the tariffs were reduced Which was raised by then-President Trump.
According to the US administration, this is a necessary step to achieve equal opportunities. They accuse China of easily subsidizing strategic industrial sectorswhich they can export to all over the world at the most competitive prices.
White House chief economist Lael Brainard accuses China of pushing its growth “at the expense of others” and “flooding” global markets with cheap exports through “unfair trade practices.”
The United States imported Chinese products worth 427 million euros last year. Proportionately, the goods affected by the tariff increase are few, but they are of very high strategic value. Because they align with the most technologically advanced and green industries that the White House has identified as priorities.
So much so that it launched a program for – Subsidies to encourage job creation in industry It is a US protectionist strategy that is viewed with great skepticism – and criticism – from the other side of the Atlantic, in the European Union.
Brussels is also considering raising tariffs
Also in an election year, the European Commission also announced that it was considering whether to raise tariffs on Chinese electric cars, which now stand at 10%, as the European auto industry has requested.
During her State of the Union address, in September 2023, the President of the Commission said, Ursula von der LeyenHe insisted on the argument of a wave of Chinese exports of electric cars, “artificially cheaper thanks to large public subsidies.”
An investigation has now been openedThis is what the new European Commission that will emerge from the upcoming elections must implement. In fact, the landing of the Chinese company Chery in Barcelona is interpreted as a move to anticipate entering the European market and avoid an eventual increase in tariffs.
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